2025 Van Alen & Clothier Cups
Seacourt Tennis Club, Hayling Island, UK
The United States sent a young, enthusiastic and talented group of players to the United Kingdom for the 2025 Van Alen & Clothier Cup competitions. The US team of Ben Dickinson, Spencer Yager, Tarquin Sotir & Dawson Chisholm all lacked experience playing international competitive real tennis and on paper were heavy underdogs versus the British & Australian teams, which were comprised of some of the top amateurs in the game.
Ben Taylor-Matthews was fantastic as the US coach throughout the competition, with the players raving about his encyclopedic knowledge of the game, his enthusiastic support of the team throughout all their matches, along with his willingness to get on court and practice at all hours.
Despite being heavy underdogs in all their matches, the US team walked away with two match wins across the competition, along with much-needed experience!
The US will look to bounce back and regain its winning ways in Australia in 2027, hoping to bring home both the Van Alen & Clothier titles! Top US U26 players Freddie Bristowe & Erik Barker will be available for the US team as they will both age out after 2027. It will be interesting to see if the 2025 experience will spark Dickinson, Yager, Sotir or Chisholm to up their games for 2027…. or if there is a youngster or two in the wings that will state a case to make the team.
Congratulations to the 2025 team for their work on the court to prepare for the competition and their exemplary behavior representing the US throughout the week.
A huge thank you to the United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation for their support of the team and player development in the US.
